Shujinkou spun around like a certain orange marsupial he recently had the chance to meet. No matter where he looked he saw nothing but an empty white void. He assumed that he would be back home or at Monika's house when she reset everything back to how it was supposed to be, but that clearly wasn't the case for him.

"Did something go wrong? Or is it like one of those moments when everything springs to life in an empty space kinda thing?"

"I don't think my other self would do such a thing. It sounds a bit risky to do that for everyone involved."

Surprised, Shujinkou immediately turned around. Now standing in front of him was Monika.

"Monika?"

She giggled and replied with, "Prime."

"Oh. I thought you were going back home with Sayori."

"I still am. I'm doing that as we speak."

"Huh?"

"Let's just say that I'm fighting against the transfer as much as I can right now."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to talk to you. That's why I made sure you'd come here when Monika undid everything I've done."

"Oh."

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He wondered what was so important that Monika had to speak with him at the last second.

"I bet you're really happy that 'My/A New Reality' is going back to normal," she said.

"That's the title of the fanfiction, right? What's with the names?" Shujinkou asked.

"Well, I'm sure that they're a reference to the song I wrote. But I'm sure they have other multiple meaning to them."

"'My Reality' and 'A New Reality'…"

Shujinkou took a moment to theorize what those other meanings could possibly be. "Hey, Monika, do you think you could do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

Shujinkou whispered his proposition into her right ear.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, so everything will go back to normal but that then," Monika assured him. "Soon it'll be like everything that's been going on will have never happened."

"Never happened… Wait…"

"Something wrong?"

"That would mean that I won't remember you, right?"

"Mm-hmm. Didn't you already know that?"

"I knew I would forget that I live in a fanfiction and forget everything I've learned about my friends but… I didn't even consider that I would forget that you exist."

"But isn't it better if you forgot? I've been nothing but a bother to you."

"No…" a small smile crossed Shujinkou's face. "And you know what; I don't have to feel sad about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Even when my memories were gone, a part of me still remembered what was lost, so I'm sure that even if I don't remember you, a part of me won't forget. That part will refuse to let the time we spent together go."

An interested look floated on Monika's face. "You've really changed a lot since I first met you… That's the other reason why I brought you here."

"What's the other reason?"

"Monika probably wasn't thinking about it, but if everything was returned to the way it was before I showed up, then so would you. You forgiving yourself and the peace you found would be gone and who knows how long it would be for you regain it, if ever."

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He never considered that either.

"It'd be a shame if you lost what you needed this whole time so, I'm going manipulate one other thing too."

"Huh?"

"You won't remember how; maybe you'll just wake up one day and realize you finally found closure or maybe you're development happened off screen. Whatever the case, I'll make you won't lose the peace you rightfully deserve. That's okay with you, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Monika."

Monika glanced down at her hand. For a moment, she could see through it.

"Looks like I'm running out of time. Once the transfer is completed, you'll return back to your reality."

A sad smile formed on Monika's lips. "I know we didn't know each other for long, but the time we spent together meant a lot to me. We'll probably never see each other again and, even though you won't consciously remember, I wanted you to know that."

Shujinkou shook his head, confounding Monika. "One day, our story will be over and maybe then I'll completely remember you and everything that's happened. But if I don't, promise you'll come back and remind me. That way, nothing will no longer get in the way of us being friends."

"Shujinkou…" Once again Monika felt that foreign hot sensation in her eyes. "It's a promise."

Monika could feel herself finally slipping away. She didn't even need to check herself to know that Shujinkou could now see through her entire body.

"Now I'm really out of time. But…"

Monika took a step closer and gently placed her hands on Shujinkou's cheeks. "Let me be selfish one more time."

She leaned forward and kissed him. It was as magical as she thought a first kiss would be. Perhaps it was even better because she was sharing it with someone she genuinely connected to and cared about.

Once their lips parted, she gave him a bright smile. "Thank you, Shujinkou. For everything."

The space around them started to bend and distort. A blinding light soon formed over the sudden horizon and gradually inched towards them.

"Till then."

A blinding light soon enveloped the two. Once the light faded, Shujinkou found himself staring at his bedroom ceiling.

He expelled a tired yawn from his body as he slowly sat up.

It was strange. He felt like he was forgetting something important, but couldn't understand what it was.

But that wasn't all. Thinking back, one of the last things he remembered doing was working on a poster for the Halloween but that felt as if happened a long time ago.

And perhaps the strangest thing of all, for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel worthless. Just admitting that was comforting.

Shujinkou curiously walked out of his room and downstairs. There he found his mother knitting.

"Mom?"

Hiro looked up and smiled. "Don't really have anything yet, but at least I'm not entwined in yarn."

Shujinkou didn't say a word as he approached her. He hugged her, surprising Hiro. "Is something wrong?"

"No… Just…" Shujinkou tightened his grip. "Thanks for being the best parent ever."

"Oh… Um…"

Though she had no idea what spurred this moment, she accepted it and tightly hugged him back.

The moment didn't last however as they heard a knock on the front door. He curiously opened the door and found Sayori on the other side.

"Sayori?"

"You're not even dressed, Shujinkou!" she chastised.

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember? We're supposed to meet everyone at the movies."

"Oh man, that's right!"

He had no idea how he forgot, but he knew that he wouldn't live it down if he was responsible for everyone missing the movie at the time they agreed upon.

Shujinkou quickly ran upstairs, slipped into the outfit conveniently located on his desk and rant back downstairs.

"I'll be back later, Mom," he said as he rushed through the front door with Sayori.

Hiro giggled as she watched the front door slam behind them.

"Do you think we can make it, Shujinkou?" Sayori asked.

Just hearing her call his name brought the young man to a sudden and complete stop.

"What's wrong, Shujinkou?"

Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. "Sayori… Um… Thanks for not giving up on me."

"Huh?"

"I was in a dark place for a long time but you were one of the slivers of light that got me out of it."

"Oh, Um…" Sayori looked around, flustered by what she just heard. "What are you saying all of a sudden? You already apologized for that."

"I know, but I never actually said thank you, so... thank you."

"Shiko…"

Sayori's face darkened with horror when she realized what she just said. "I mean-! Sorry…"

"Don't be. It doesn't bother me anymore," Shujinkou assured her.

"It doesn't?"

"Yeah. For the first time in forever, it doesn't."

"So… Hiroko?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean I can call you Shiko again?"

"If you want to."

Sayori's face immediately lit up with happiness. "That's great, Shiko!"

Shujinkou nodded his head in agreement then looked up at the sky. Just looking at it made a certain sentence pop up in his head. It was sudden, out of nowhere and felt like it was a response to something someone had told him. But despite that, he felt like he had to say it.

"Till then, Monika."

Little did he know, those words signaled the beginning of-

"Ah-!"

Shujinkou looked back down at his friend's panicked face.

"We're still running behind, Shiko!" she cried.

The two took off once again, hoping that they won't be late.

The story continues in-

Doki Doki Literature Club!: Our Reality.